Devan S.

normal jerkbaits- Mcstik and up I throw on 6'6" baitcaster too. Can throw them all day no problem. Small jerkbaits-(trout) I'm throwing on a 7' St. Croix spinning rod. Actually get tired fishing them in the wrist. Both are too long for me even being tall but I'm happy with what I have and wouldn't go any shorter I can splash a little bit at my feet.

Thanks guys....ya'll are more than welcome to come down. Only problem is its another hour+ past Taney. Honestly I enjoy fishing the red-headed step uncle-brother of the white river tailwaters but if the White or Taney were closer to me I'd avoid Beaver outside a couple months of the year in the spring.

I thought about the Nomad mid-length......but its hoop is not that much bigger than my net today 2-3" both ways. However I think the net itself is 3" deeper and built a little different from a volume perspective so maybe some benefit. I really like the mid-length boat net just wish the handle was a touch shorter. Here is what I am using now, a more than serviceable net for 95% of my fishing except the last 2 or 3 big fish I've caught have a tendency to flip out fairly easily since half of them are out of the net to begin with.

I'm finding more and more I need to upgrade my wade fishing net. What does everyone use/recommend? Nearly every guide trip I have been on used a fishpond. They are sweet but price is high. Is there anything more bang for your buck? Currently I'm using the cheapy standard issue wood frame net maybe 16" x 9-10" opening. Looking for larger opening for bigger fish, deeper would be nice. Not overly concerned with weight. Have considered buying Nomad net and DIY wooden frame.

Fished the tailwaters this morning....they finally ran some water yesterday so I figured I would go wade the upper section. Ended the day with about 20 fish total. The normal run of rainbows, 5 stocker browns and a new PB brown. Its really hard to get pictures by yourself. Size 14 boot for reference.

https://www.swl.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/2748088/additional-interim-risk-reduction-measures-to-be-implemented-for-beaver-dam/ Probably has something to do with this. I know the article talks about Beaver but it also talks about minimum flow being doubled to 1900CFS. There is no such thing as minimum flow below Beaver.

Have been fishing the tailwaters generally every weekend for about the last month. Had been catching lots of rainbows jigging between Bertrand and 62 bridge. Probably averaged 1-18" bow per day in this stretch but lots of under slot fish which is normal. Have not seen a brown until yesterday both were small stockers so I assume they have put in the yearly stock of them. Yesterday was much tougher. The water is not clear and they haven't run any water for about a week. Water around the 62 bridge area is about 60 degrees. I assume the lack of generation keeps the fish very scattered but really think the low visibility hurts the jig fishing. Thought we may do better with jerkbaits we bailed and headed out last night. Fished from 1 am to 5 am this morning and still only had 1 fish.

Take this advice and run with it.

hmmmm I guess when we talk powerhead failure that doesn't randomly happen solo on its own right....something else is generally the root cause?

Out of curiosity, how do you know that for sure. Do on-board computers record the RPM settings at that failure point? Or is it just statistically the number of hours at certain RPM's? Or is it the guy coming in a saying well.....I wasn't running it that hard when it blew.

I've got a 2004 or 2005 optimax 115. I'm not partial to anything specific....I'm likely never going to buy new so any sort of brand loyalty significantly reduces my options and likely increases my purchase price. I'm not into buying and re-powering to get a specific boat/motor combo. The reality is I'm fishing for fun so I pick my launch and put the miles on my truck. I like to fish the dark and the cold(i.e. when the pleasure boats are gone) so less time running and more time fishing is more important. I don't often run wide open....try not to go from zero to mach 2 in zero seconds.....and just cruise at a comfortable speed.....no hot foot so minimal adjustments to engine RPM. I literally treat it like I treat my tractor....except I don't just let it sit and idle.

Yeah.

Guy has caught so many big trout over the last couple months its un-real. I looked back and it looks like it was caught back in July right?

I honestly don't know about making it to the dam under no generation in a boat(parker bottoms might be tight as its a pretty easy wade across the shoals there). I don't see a bunch of boats running the upper sections while wading so I'd say no. 1 unit I'm sure you can in a river boat or jet no problem. Several trees and lay downs on up though. In my Xpress bass boat under no generation I run on plane to the 62 bridge, idle from there to the island at spider creek and use the trolling motor to go through the shoal on the left side. From there its trolling motor to the shallows below Clayborn Creek. Under 1 unit my trolling motor wont get through the shoal at spider creek. The water is deeper though so I think I could run it on plane but I'm not "buy a new lower unit" sure.

I've always just assumed the whites ran later than other warmer tributaries and by that time I've moved onto something else.

West side single day jigfest?

I've never figured out the white bass deal down there. I waded in the restricted area Saturday morning and caught 2-16" walleye.

This guy actually caught this fish I think last month. Pretty sure its still there as I saw another post last week of a guy catching a fish almost identical, released it too. I think AGFC stocked a bunch of brood stock this year in the tailwaters. Bunches of bigger rainbows showing up on facebook. The water is low and clear so their pretty easy to spot. The good news is most of these guys on facebook are saying they are releasing these bigger fish several 3-5lb fish getting caught and released often. The downside is I have not run into any of the bigger browns.

The ones in the spring pool at roaring river look rough too and they have been in there for awhile now. IDK if fins ect ever re-grow.

Its a real shame because I was hopeful Arkansas could take a late season shot at #1 and get the upset. That SEC gauntlet this year is tough. @willyfish any concern with Kentucky or the Gators?

exactly why I switched to baitcasting on big jerkers......

Interesting.....I guess I was ignorant of the whole number of pipelines. All I associated with was the Keystone XL which Biden shut down on day one and was all over the news. Just never made sense to me why we were supposedly independent but actively building a pipeline to get Canada's oil. Back when I hired welders/fitters/millwrights, guy's would take massive pay cuts to get off the "road" and be in a job where they could see their kids/families everyday. The pay sounds good until you start missing events or hearing rumors of what your wife/gf is doing when your gone. I would assume OTR trucking is very much the same way.

Many of these pipelines are bringing oil from Canadian tar sand fields into the USA, No? Keystone certainly was. I guess I'm confused on the whole "energy independent claims" but still building pipelines importing from other countries.

My lord......I've been out and just got in a flipped on the game.....Only saw the first drive by Georgia and the onslaught of penalties on Arkansas first drive. I really hoped for more....kudos to @willyfish you knew what was coming. Hopefully Arkansas can regroup and still get some wins against the mid-tier SEC teams.

That's how it should be but all of us know darn good and well that it doesn't always work that way especially if your talking about the corporate world. Sometimes the best way to get that reward is to jump ship.....which is exactly what a lot of people are doing right now.